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You and your partner may be ready to make a baby (congrats!), but your body may not be quite there yet. That’s where vaccines come in. They’ll protect you against certain illnesses during pregnancy (sadly, though, there's still no progress on a morning-sickness vaccine), and keep your growing baby safe, too. So before you even think about getting pregnant, schedule an appointment with your ob-gyn or primary-care doctor to find out which vaccinations you need. A simple blood test will let your practitioner check your immunity to the following diseases:

In This Series

Chicken Pox (varicella)Did you escape chicken pox as a child (while all your friends walked around like human red-dot specials)? Having avoided the calamine-soaked misery of this childhood illness may have seemed like a lucky break at the time, but what it means now is that you might be missing important immunity from it. And even if you were vaccinated with the varicella vaccine when you were younger, you may be due for a booster, since immunity can wear off over time.

Having chicken pox as an adult is no fun at all and in fact can be quite serious. And if you’re pregnant, it’s not only uncomfortable (with all that extra acreage to scratch), it could also spell serious trouble for your growing baby-to-be. If blood work reveals that you’re not immune to chicken pox, the varicella vaccine will keep the pox at bay. You’ll need two doses, four to eight weeks apart. Then, if you can, hold off on conceiving until a month after your second dose (though don’t worry if you become pregnant before the recommended waiting time is up).

Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR)In addition to being very uncomfortable illnesses, measles, mumps, and rubella (aka, the German measles) can cause birth defects and other complications when you’re expecting. So you’ll want to make sure you’ve had this trio of vaccinations before pregnancy. Keep in mind that even if your vaccination records show that you got an MMR shot when you were younger, sometimes immunity can wear off, so your best bet is to get a blood test to check. If you’re not immune, get vaccinated, and then wait one month before trying to conceive.

Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis)This one you actually don't need to worry about for now, since all pregnant women are recommended to receive a Tdap booster shot between weeks 27 through 36 of pregnancy (whether or not you've received one within the last 10 years). This vaccine will immunize you against not only tetanus and diphtheria (a dangerous bacterial infection) but also pertussis (whooping cough) — a good bet since immunity to pertussis wears off with time and this bacteria can be very dangerous for newborns.

Hepatitis BIf you’re at high risk for this viral infection that attacks the liver (say, you’re a health-care worker and you come into contact with people’s blood and bodily fluids, which is how hepatitis B is transmitted), then you’d be wise to make sure you’re up-to-date on this vaccine. Hepatitis B can be passed on to an unborn baby, and it can cause prematurity. The vaccine comes in a series of three shots, but you don’t need to finish all three doses before conceiving. You can continue with the series during pregnancy.

HPV (human papillomavirus)If you’re younger than 26, ask your doctor if you should consider getting the HPV vaccine, which can help protect against genital warts and cervical cancer in young women. If you do decide to add this to your roster of vaccinations before pregnancy, keep in mind that it requires three doses, and experts advise that you not receive this vaccine while pregnant. If you don’t get a chance to complete the series of shots before conceiving, you’ll be able to pick up where you left off in the series after giving birth.

While you’re rolling up your sleeve for all these vaccines, have your partner ask his doc if he should roll up his sleeve, too, to protect him and your baby-to-be. And before you leave your doctor’s office, remember to double-check with your practitioner about when it will be safe for you and your partner to try, try again. Once you get the green light, your newly immunized bod will be better than ever and ready to get down to business!

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